Vehicles such as pick-up trucks are often used to transport various types of cargo from one location to another. Transporting cargo in a motor vehicle poses a number of hazards. For example, certain types of cargo can easily be toppled, ejected from the vehicle, or otherwise shifted during transportation, which can pose significant hazards to pedestrians and other motorists who are in the path of the ejected cargo. Shifting cargo can also upset the balance of the vehicle which can lead to loss of control of the vehicle. Even when shifting cargo is contained within the vehicle's cargo area, the cargo itself may become damaged. It is therefore important to secure the cargo within the vehicle during transportation.
Various devices have been employed in the past in an effort to secure cargo within a vehicle. Many of these devices, however, are heavy, complex, and difficult to use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,447 to Clason discloses a cargo restraining device having a lattice webbing with longitudinal straps and latitudinal straps. Every other latitudinal strap includes a latitudinally extending portion, an in-line buckle attached to the latitudinally extending portion, and an anchoring strap with a flat hook. For the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 of the Clason patent, a total of ten buckles and ten flat hooks are required. All ten hooks must be anchored at some point on the vehicle and all ten buckles must be adjusted for the Clason device to function properly. For many vehicles, finding an appropriate anchor point for each of the flat hooks could prove difficult.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus that can restrain cargo in a vehicle in an effective and efficient manner. The apparatus should be lightweight and easy to use.